This section provides detail on stronghold management requirements, and the support that will be available.
a) Management requirements
The stronghold sites will vary considerably in their characteristics, and it is neither possible nor desirable to produce a ‘one-size-fits-all’ management prescription for strongholds. There will, however, be five main issues to consider at all sites:
- i.) Red squirrel-friendly woodland management
- ii.) Woodland connectivity
- iii.) Presence of large seeded broadleaves
- iv.) Site defendability
- v.) Control of grey squirrels.
Wherever a significant forest area is managed, having a Long Term Forest Plan is strongly recommended. This provides a long term strategic management plan for the woodland area which should include management prescriptions for the main species, such as red squirrels.
i. Red squirrel-friendly woodland management
To improve the population of red squirrels that a stronghold can support, it will be necessary to increase the amount of food available. Maintaining a diverse age range of conifers will help to sustain food supplies over the long term.
Depending on the species involved, an ‘ideal’ age class structure might include around one third of each of the following tree age classes: younger than 15 years; 15-30 years, older than 30 years.
Furthermore, within extensive plantations of a single species such as Sitka spruce, at least 20% of other species should be encouraged over time. These should be species such as:
- Scots pine
- larch
- Norway spruce
- lodgepole pine
- firs
- yew
- hawthorn
all of which have direct value for red squirrels; and/or other native broadleaved species such as birch, rowan, ash, willow, aspen and alder which have general conservation value but do not encourage grey squirrels.
We recognise that in some woods, for example, native pinewoods, opportunities for species diversification using non-native species may be limited or absent.
Continuous cover forestry systems can help provide continuity of food supplies and canopy cover, and can encourage seed production, and could potentially be a valuable management technique for strongholds.
Long-term forest plans on these sites will need to provide for appropriate diversification, in balance with other objectives for the site – and should seek to work with neighbouring stronghold landowners to achieve this at a landscape scale.
ii. Woodland connectivity within the stronghold
The stronghold sites have been chosen because they are large woodland networks which red squirrels can use. Red squirrels tend not to cross large tracts of open ground, so to maintain the network it will be important to plan felling and restocking carefully.
Consideration of woodland connectivity is complicated by the presence of squirrelpox. Advice on whether breaks in the network are desirable will be provided for those strongholds which are particularly vulnerable.
Long-term forest plans on these sites will need to provide for appropriate canopy connectivity.
iii. Large seeded broadleaves
Patches of large seeded broadleaved species (especially oak, but also beech, chestnut and hazel) encourage grey squirrels. Sites have been chosen so as to minimise the amount of such species present, but nevertheless some will remain. We will seek to keep the proportion within a stronghold very low by:
- Discouraging inappropriate planting of large seeded broadleaves within a stronghold by withholding grant aid for their establishment
- If appropriate (and if compatible with other objectives for the site), seeking opportunities to remove large seeded broadleaves which could aid grey squirrel incursion to the site.
What size 'patch' of large seeded broadleaves is acceptable? This will vary from site to site, but patches larger than 0.25-0.5ha, making up more than 5% of the total stronghold area, are likely to increase the risk of grey squirrels taking up residence.
iv. Site defendability
Woodland establishment in the vicinity of strongholds which could make it easier for grey squirrels to reach the site will also be discouraged. This applies particularly to the establishment of large seeded broadleaves adjacent to a stronghold, and to the creation of networks of woodland increasing the connectivity of a stronghold in the wider landscape.
The concept of woodland-free buffer zones for strongholds is not being pursued, both because of the high degree of existing connectivity in some sites, and because such buffers are unlikely to be effective against the highly mobile grey squirrel.
v. Control of grey squirrels
If grey squirrels do eventually reach a stronghold site, control is likely to be necessary to protect the red squirrel population (for example, if the grey squirrels are carrying the squirrelpox virus, or if grey squirrels prove more capable of using the habitat than predicted).
Land managers will be encouraged to plan for this eventuality, and would be expected either to carry out grey squirrel control (funded through grant aid) or to permit publicly funded grey squirrel controllers to work on the land. Continual monitoring of the distribution of grey squirrels will show us when this situation is reached.
b) Support available for stronghold management
Grant aid for red squirrel-friendly habitat management and grey squirrel control is available through the Scotland Rural Development Plan: Rural Development Contracts. Under the new competitive system proposals are judged by Regional Proposal Assessment Committees (RPACs). Management proposals in and around strongholds are expected to be a high priority for funding under this and future grant schemes.
The SRDP website has more information on the grants:
In addition to the grants Forestry Commission Scotland will prioritise to strongholds any additional resources which become available for red squirrel habitat surveys and modelling of habitats to inform long term management planning.
c) Securing the long term future of strongholds
To help secure the long term future of strongholds we will:
- Ask the owners and managers of land within the strongholds to confirm that they are willing to participate, in accordance with the management principles outlined in section a. We will write to the owners and managers of the finalised list of strongholds following the conclusion of this consultation process.
- Encourage the owners of land within strongholds to enter into Long Term Forest Plans which include consideration of the management principles outlined in section a above.
- Notify Local Authorities of the existence of red squirrel strongholds and ask that these be taken into account in development control decisions.
d) Review
The implementation of strongholds will be monitored, and the success of this policy will be evaluated within five years in order that any necessary changes to the sites, management prescriptions and support for strongholds can be made.
Consultation questions relevant to this section:
5. Do you think that the proposed support for management will be sufficient to achieve stronghold objectives? If not, what support is needed?
- Continue to 7. summary of the consultation questions
